Baby Napping

My theory is that you either get night time sleepers, or nappers. But not both.

Neither of my kids nap well. DD is 7mos old and it's a battle with her every day.

I have had to pay very close attention to her sleep signals, and beat it to the punch. 9 weeks is hard to guage, since she's just developing those habits now. Start watching for how long she's up between being tired during the day. (At that age, I got about 2 hrs out of each kid). Then start rocking - or whatever - about 15 minutes early.

Now, I get about 3 hrs between naps for the baby. So at the 2.5hr mark, I take her upstairs and start rocking. If I can get her BEFORE she starts rubbing her eyes and pulling on her ears, then she'll conk right out.
It's taken me about 6 mos to get that!

Good luck. I feel your pain! There are plenty of days where she'll close her eyes, and as soon as I move her to the crib, they pop wide open and she smiles as me. It's maddening!

My son was a bad sleeper until I found 2 books: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and The Happiest Baby on the Block.
We called my son the 30 Minute Wonder because that's all he would nap - he was too afraid of missing out on what was going on (that's my theory, anyway). We ended up creating a mini nightime routine for his naps: swaddled him, put up blackout curtains and used a sound machine or fan for white noise. I also had to make it a priority to get him on a schedule and be at home for his naps, so he could get some good quality sleep (Yes, I felt like I was chained to the house, but it was worth it). He was so overtired from his mini naps and couldn't settle down, so it took a week or two to really get him on schedule (with some set backs here and there), but it worked.
I know you don't have much time to read right now, but the books really helped us a lot. They have all kinds of strategies so you can figure out what works best for your child and your life. Good Luck!!!! We've all been there.

she will not develop a nap schedule (or very long naps, for that matter) until she is 4 months or older. Her nighttime sleep sounds awesome for her age, you're very lucky! She will sort her naps out as she gets older but for right now it's perfectly normal for her to have cat naps all day. Congratulations on your new baby!

When my DD was this age she always took her naps in her swing. Its too hard to really determine when a baby that age will actually take a nap so whenever I noticed she seemed to be tired or ready for some quiet time I would put her in her swing and play with her or read to her for a bit and before I knew it her little eyes would get heavy and then wham - naptime. She did this from birth till about 4 1/2 to 5 months and then I started transitioning her to her crib for naps when I had a better idea as to her schedule. Not that they stay on a set schedule for very long but at least you will have a much better handle on reading her cues.
Good Luck

Sounds to me like she might be overtired and cannot get to sleep. I have one that is 23 and one that is 6 and between the two of them I've had both ends. My youngest, through so much stress and trial and error was very much like yours- ended up being that she just was on a no sleep routine and just couldn't get out of it. So with much work and patience - took a long while we were finally able to get her into a better sleep routine. Sometimes when babies get into a irregular pattern it is hard to tell what might be causing it. I had to really watch E and write things down and read alot - she just wasn't getting her 14-16 hrs a day. Her restlessness was a sign of overtired hard to wind down. Hopefully you will find what works best for you both. I know it is hard. I had to show E how to nap.. I would lie down with her and take deep breathes and then fall asleep and when she saw me do it- she began to do it.... but if I faked it - she new it and wouldn't go to sleep... ( she is a very smart cookie even at 9 mos)...
Best wishes!

Do you swaddle her? It to me sounds like she is getting woken up by her accidently hitting herself, which usually happens around 15 min. I would try The Woombie (thewoombie.com) so that she can still move around, but not hit herself.